Hydraulics Online founders Mark and Helen recently had one of their most exciting interviews to date – with the radio reporters at Seabridge Primary School in Newcastle-under-Lyme

What a talented, professional bunch the radio team at Seabridge turned out to be. Under the careful guidance of Michelle Greenwell, teaching assistant and Seabridge Radio lead, the budding reporters asked some fantastic questions demonstrating their careful planning and research.

The school radio reporters began by taking it easy on the Hydraulics Online management team, asking about their roles and when they first set up their “wonderful company”. The answer was 2004: quite something to think that Helen and Mark’s interviewers weren’t even born when the business first started trading from a spare desk at home!

The young reporters’ questions soon moved on to more challenging territory discussing: where the company traded, ISO 9001 accreditation, how hydraulics work and are used, social media, marketing and how they might even begin a career in hydraulics. The session then culminated in some very unexpected “would you rather” choices: Helen and Mark both opted for ‘Maths’ over ‘English’ and ‘McDonalds’ over ‘KFC’ (other options weren’t available!).

Mark reflects: “We’ve had such an exciting time over the last few months – winning awards at our local Chamber of Commerce and then again at the Federation of Small Businesses has opened so many new doors for us – but this has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding doors we’ve jumped through! Considering how young they are, the Seabridge radio children are really confident and professional: we loved being interviewed by them.”

Perfect guests

Teaching assistant Michelle Greenwell is equally enthusiastic: “I love this side of my job – the children will leave this radio station remembering the guests they researched and interviewed forever and take away a bank of knowledge. By the time they leave for high school they are fully-fledged radio presenters. How fantastic, at this young age, to have these skills in ICT (information and communication technology), speaking, listening and social skills.”

She continues: “Mark and Helen were exactly what we hoped for – they explained how hydraulics are used in everyday life and offered a great insight into the projects Hydraulics Online are involved in. This gives the children a greater knowledge of the world they live in. Not only that, they may learn about a career that they wish to follow up as an adult, be inspired and follow in their footsteps

A future career

Mark certainly took the opportunity to explain how rewarding a career in the fluid power industry could be. He told the children that engineering is a fantastic career for anyone who likes creating and building things, before explaining that – despite being in the industry for nearly 30 years – he still learns something new every day.

Helen says, “it was great to hear the gasp from the children when they found out that we have sold to customers in 130 countries around the world – it really put what Hydraulics Online has achieved into perspective and made them realise just how widely hydraulics are used. It was fun to challenge them to guess how many different languages that represented – and I was impressed how accurate their answers were. Although I did joke with the children that my favourite question was whether we have won any awards: I think it’s important for them to see that, even as grown-ups, we are continuing to learn and improve ourselves and that hard work really does pay off!”